Good Morning Voldemort
by Skysong
Summary: A fic set in the Marauders sixth year . . . what happens when the HP gang get hit by the songs from "Hairspray"? Read and find out! JP/LE, SB/OC, RL/OC, FL/AL, PP/OC. Warning: some singing will occur in later chapters. :P NB: This fic is definitely AU
1. Chapter 1

A/N: this fic is set with some of the HP characters, some time during the Marauder's 6th year at Hogwarts. It is purely for fun, and does not necessarily run in concert with the story faithfully set down by our dear JK. Hope you like!

Disclaimer: I don't own any HP stuff, nor do I own the titles of the songs from "Hairspray", which this fic is loosely based on (you'll notice some similarities between titles of chapters).

**Chapter One: Good Morning Voldemort**

Bellatrix Black was having a bad day. A very bad day. She stalked down the halls of Hogwarts, shooting curses in every direction at undeserving first years.

"OUT OF MY WAY!" she screamed, sending a bolt of red light shooting off towards the wall. Part of the wall in the fourth floor corridor crumbled to the ground.

"Oi! Black! Forget to take your happy pills this morning?" James Potter called out. He and Sirius Black passed Bellatrix, who sneered at them.

"Forget to die this morning, Potter?" she spat back.

James turned to Sirius. "Hmmmm . . . I'm still alive, aren't I, Padfoot?"

Sirius grinned. "I think so, Prongs. Want me to check?"

And with no warning, Sirius' right arm sped out and whacked James in the gut. He doubled over, pulling his wand out and cursing Sirius in a loud breath. Sirius ducked, laughing, and the light sped towards Bellatrix, who blocked it easily, sending her own light in return.

"Magic in the halls, Miss Black, Mr Black, Mr Potter?"

McGonagall strode towards them, black robes billowing. James and Sirius stood up and took a step back.

"Never, Professor. And might I say how lovely you're looking this morning?" Sirius winked at her.

"That will do, Mr Black. 10 points from Gryffindor. And 10 points from Slytherin as well, Miss Black. Now off to class with you all."

McGonagall continued to walk up the hall, students who had gathered to watch the fight scattering in her midst. James winked at Sirius.

"Come on, Prongs, we'll be late for class."

A new voice (and a girl with bright red hair) joined the fray. "Oh, and I bet that would have to be the first time you've EVER been late."

Lily Evans, voice dripping with sarcasm, and her friend Alice walked past them, shaking their heads disdainfully.

"Evans!" James ran to catch up with them. "Hey, Evans!"

Lily and Alice stopped and turned. "What?" she said.

"Will you go out with me?"

James smiled suavely, and flipped his dark hair. He winked at Sirius, who had come to stand next to him. Lily turned to look at Alice, who grinned.

"Let's see, Alice, should I go out with James Potter, seeker for the Quidditch team, hunk of spunk?"

Alice giggled. Lily continued. "Who could refuse? Look at those eyes, the hair, why, his whole body just screams out to me . . ."

James stepped closer. Lily's lips smiled . . .

"The muscles in his arms, those glasses . . . Now, should I go out with you?"

James took another step. His breath came sharply, and his heart felt like it was thumping against his ribs. The crowd watching held their breath. Lily's lips almost met his, her eyes closed . . . .

"Ummmmm . . . ."

"James, Sirius, hurry up!"

James's head turned to see Remus Lupin hurrying towards them. Lily stepped back.

"Well, I guess you missed your chance, Potter. I suppose it just wasn't . . . meant to be." Lily laughed. "Come on Alice, we'll be late. See you round, James, Sirius."

And with that, Lily and Alice walked off to class. James turned his whole body to meet Remus . . .

"What the HELL were you thinking? Did you SEE how close I got to kissing Evans??" He sighed. "Merlin, that girl makes me crazy!"

Sirius laughed at the perplexed look on Remus's face. "I don't think he did, Prongs. Oh, well, I'm sure you'll get another chance. After all, what is it you keep telling me? Oh, yeah, you're . . ."

Remus chimed in. " . . . Meant to be."

James rolled his eyes. "Thanks Padfoot, thanks a bunch. What's so important that you broke us up for, anyway Moony?"

Remus started to walk back towards their classroom. "Well, only that you two are about to be VERY late to Potions, and we all know what that means."

The three Marauders sighed collectively. "Detention with Slughorn."

-------------------------------------------

. . . . But back to Bellatrix. Right as Lily was seducing her dark haired lover, Bellatrix was trying to take some deep, calming breaths in an attempt to make her heart stop beating so goddamn fast. She was very late, very, VERY late. And she was trying to calm herself while pacing angrily in front of a certain seventh floor corridor, where a certain Room was hidden. And in this certain Room was (she hoped) the portkey to her own dear and beloved.

Just as she was about to give up hope and return to class, a door appeared in the wall. Smiling victoriously, Bellatrix opened the door and stepped through, after first making sure she was the only one in the hall. It wouldn't do for some busybody like Lucius Malfoy or that freak of nature Lestrange to find her here. Assured she was alone, Bellatrix closed the door behind her.

In front of here, the Room loomed large and tall, and in the very centre sat a black box. Upon the black box was a single candle. Bellatrix laughed. It was just as he said it would be. She walked towards the box and picked up the candle. Feeling that jerking feeling beneath her nose, she found herself being picked up and swirling away from the Castle . . .

When she stopped swirling, Bellatrix realised she was standing outside a cave, high in the mountains.

"Albania," she whispered to herself.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself (and placing the candle in the pocket of the robes she was wearing . . . it just wouldn't do to get here only to find that she couldn't get back!), Bellatrix stepped forwards into the cave, and strode carefully towards the back.

"Bellatrix . . ." a haunting voice called to her. "Bellatrix . . ."

The haunting voice stopped, and a much firmer one broke through the air. "You're late."

Bellatrix paused, just long enough for the voice to call again through the mist. "I SAID, you're late."

Getting a grip on herself, Bellatrix walked forward, where she came face to face with a large room. In the centre, stood a large throne-like chair, upon which was draped many furs and blankets. The chair turned, revealing a man . . .

"Explain yourself, Bellatrix. Why are you late?"

Bellatrix stumbled forwards until she was a few feet away. "Good Morning, Voldemort."

Lord Voldemort hissed. "You dare address me so informally?"

Bellatrix smiled hesitatingly. "Of course not, my Lord. Forgive me. And forgive my lateness, I was, somewhat delayed by the hassles of my youth. It will not happen again."

"It better not, Bellatrix. Now tell me, what have you learnt about the blood traitor to tell me this week? Maybe I shall let you keep a finger, this time . . ."

-------------------------------------------

James, Sirius and Remus stumbled through the door to the Potions dungeon. Professor Slughorn looked up from Lily's potion (which was simmering quite nicely, thank you very much!) and frowned as the Marauders took their seats.

"Late again, boys?" Slughorn sighed. "We'll never make good potion masters out of you. Now, if you could just take a leaf out of Miss Evans's book . . ."

Sirius turned to James and winked seductively, fluttering his eyelashes. James punched him. Slughorn, having turned to look at Lily and her slightly pinkish potion, turned his full attention back to the boys.

"Violence as well, Mr Black, Mr Potter? Tut tut tut, that will never do, never at all. I think we shall have to spend some time together tonight, to discuss the ramifications of your actions in full. Yes, I think a detention will do quite nicely."

He turned back to his desk, and wrote their names on a piece of parchment. Remus glared at Sirius and James, who shrugged helplessly.

"But, Sir!" Remus protested.

"No, Mr Lupin, you too were late, and prefect or not, you will see me in detention tonight. I'll expect the three of you at 8 o'clock, and not a second after."

Lily smiled to herself. Remus caught her eye, and she shrugged apologetically. After all, it wasn't his fault that they were late, he had been going to get them. And she and Alice had only just stumbled through the door in time, it was lucky that Slughorn liked the girls, or they would have scored a detention too. She shuddered. Ick, detention with Potter and his Pals. Thrilling.

-------------------------------------------

After Potions, where James and Sirius had sat and scribbled a game of hang man on a piece of parchment, and where Remus had hurriedly tried to make his potion with some success, earning him a reprieve of his detention ("Excellent turn around, Mr Lupin," Slughorn had said, smiling broadly, "I think maybe we can cancel your detention tonight."), the three boys walked up to the Gryffindor common room. Remus pulled out his Transfiguration homework, and Sirius and James sat and played exploding snap.

James had just been caught by a very BIG explosion when the common room door swung open and Lily and Alice walked in. The girls giggled when they walked past James, still smoking, who stood up in attempt to follow them.

"Evans! Wait up!"

Lily turned on her heel. "What do you want, Potter?"

"Well, Lilyflower . . ."

"Don't call me that!"

"Ok, Petal . . ."

"OR THAT!"

"Ok, LILY . . ."

"That's better." Lily sighed.

"Anyway, Lily, I was just wondering if we could start again where we got interrupted by Remus over there."

James jerked his finger over at Remus, who looked up and rolled his eyes.

"So sorry to have interrupted your 'special moment', James," he said, and went back to his homework.

"So, anyway, what do you think?"

"Well, I don't think so, James. You see, you just got lucky before, and besides, why would I want to kiss someone I don't even like? Answer me that."

James actually looked hurt, and Lily felt a slight tug at her heart. She sighed inside; in for a Knut, in for a Galleon, she thought.

"Sorry, Potter."

Lily turned and walked up the stairs to the girls' dorm, with a surprised Alice in tow. James turned to Sirius, who grinned at him.

"Oooh, burn, Prongs man, BURN!"

-------------------------------------------

Lily walked into her dorm and threw her books and bag onto the floor, before sinking into a comfy chair by the window. She sighed and stared out, down onto the lake in the distance. Alice flopped onto her bed.

"Is something the matter, Lily? You seemed a little, well, harsh to James back in the common room."

"No, I didn't. He deserved what he got, the arrogant little whatsit." She shook her head.

"You know what, Lily? I think you liiiike him. Lily likes James, Lily likes James!" Alice jumped up off her bed and danced around the room.

Lily grabbed a pillow off the chair and threw it at Alice, narrowly avoiding her head.

"Hey!!! That nearly hit me!!"

"Well, serves you right for even suggesting something as impossible as me liking Potter! And besides, I didn't even bat an eyelid when you started liking FRANK LONGBOTTOM! Which, by the way, you haven't even done anything about!"

Alice squealed and threw the pillow back at Lily. "I so DON'T like Frank!! And besides, you're just dodging the question." She walked up to Lily and looked her straight in the eye. "Lils, do you like James Potter?"

Lily maintained the eye contact for the briefest of seconds and then looked away.

"I don't know."

Alice squealed again. "I knew it!! I knew it!! Oh, Frank SOOOO owes me 5 galleons!"

She danced around the room with delight until Lily grabbed her and pulled her onto the floor. The girls wrestled for the briefest of moments until both of them dropped, rolling with laughter on the floor. A full five minutes passed before either of them had any control again, and when Lily looked again at her watch, she jumped up and straightened out her hair.

"Oh my gosh, I'm going to be so late for my date!" Lily made inverted commas with her fingers around the word date (which Alice missed . . .).

Alice stopped in her tracks. "You so never told me you had a date!!! Who with??"

"With you, you goose! Didn't you see the finger commas?? We're going to dinner, remember?"

Alice stared at her for a split second and then the two girls burst into laughter again. Still giggling, Alice walked into the bathroom, leaving Lily alone for a second with her thoughts.

Did she like James Potter? No, no she couldn't. He was arrogant, a toerag, a horrible subspecies of mankind. And yet, the thought of his soft hair and the understanding eyes underneath his glasses made her stomach do slight flip flops. But that was just hunger, yes, that was it, her stomach was feeling that way because she was hungry! But she shouldn't have treated him like she did, leading him on wasn't right, especially when she definitely did NOT like him. Deciding that she mustn't feel anything at all (and that she must apologise at the first chance she got), Lily and Alice (having returned from the bathroom) walked out of the common room, and down to dinner.

-------------------------------------------

Bellatrix Black's day was about to get worse. Having spent the entire day in Albania with Lord Voldemort, having her mind totally wiped of all information (but thankfully keeping her fingers in tact), she had just returned to Hogwarts in time for dinner. But she wasn't feeling particularly hungry . . .

_FLASHBACK_

"_Bella, what are you not telling me, what are you leaving out?"_

"_Nothing, my Lord, nothing at all. You can see for yourself, there is nothing in my mind that you do not already know."_

_Bellatrix felt that familiar tug at her brain, and the feeling of weight lifted again from her shoulders as Voldemort poured through her memories. _

"_Lord Voldemort can tell when you are lying, Bella, and yet, I can't seem to find anything I have not already seen. Maybe you are telling the truth . . ."_

_The tug faded, and the weight that had been so mercifully lifted landed squarely on Bellatrix's shoulders again. She staggered._

"_Hmmm . . . maybe I've seen enough for today. That fool Dumbledore will be missing you, my dear, it is time for you to return. Next time, I hope you will have more information for me."_

_END FLASHBACK_

Bellatrix cringed as she walked along the empty seventh floor corridor and down a flight of stairs. The trip back to Hogwarts after having her mind played with was always difficult, and she often found herself being violently ill. But today was not a day for that, thank Merlin. But as she turned into the hallway outside the Slytherin common room, she was met with a scene she did not want to deal with.

"Hey, baby, it's about time you showed your face again. Come over here, and say hello to your sweetheart."

----------------------------

A/N: Ooooh, cliffie!! And at the end of the first chapter, too! I hope you liked it, hit that little review button down there and tell me what you think! I would also like to note that this chapter is the LONGEST I have ever written for ANY story!!! Go me!! Reviews make me very happy, and a happy Skysong updates faster! Ciao!

NOTE: It has occurred to me that some of you (and sometimes myself too . . .) might think that Lily was being more than a little bitchy today, but don't worry, the reason for that will be revealed all in due course. She doesn't actually mean to be so horrible to James.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: and here's chapter two! My apologies for the lateness, I have been very busy on clinical placement. Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

**Chapter Two: Nicest Kids in Town . . . Erm, I Mean, Hogsmeade**

"Hey, baby, it's about time you showed your face again. Come over here, and say hello to your sweetheart."

Bellatrix sighed and turned into the small corridor where the voice emerged from. Slouched against the wall stood Rudolphus Lestrange, hair draped around his face and trousers pulled down so low you could see his boxer shorts. Bellatrix found herself forcing back a gag, but smiled in his direction.

"Hi, Rudy."

Lestrange (AKA: Freak of Nature Incarnate) smiled and raised his eyebrow suggestively.

"Fancy a quickie?"

At that, Bellatrix did gag, but seeing Lestrange's face turn stony, quickly turned it into a coughing fit. Lestrange grabbed her wrist, and dragged her into the side corridor. He began running his lips over her neck, and Bellatrix rolled her eyes. Tacky, completely tacky. And yet, she was betrothed to this imbecile. Feeling his hot lips caress her body clumsily, Bellatrix allowed her mind to wander back to the moment her parents told her the horrible truth.

_FLASHBACK_

"_Bella, Bella, I have some wonderful news."_

_Bellatrix's mother strode into the room. An 11-year-old Bellatrix sat at the desk, reading an excerpt from "A History of Magic"._

_  
"What is it, mother?"_

"_Darling, your father and I have finally made the arrangements for your betrothal."_

"_My WHAT??" Bellatrix was stunned. "But, but . . ."_

"_Now, Bella, we talked about this. You are betrothed to marry Rudolphus Lestrange, as soon as you are of age. There will be no discussion about this, your father has already signed the documents. The Lestranges are an old Pure Blood Wizarding family – very few of us are left."_

_Bellatrix made to stand up, but at that moment, her mother's eyes turned stony, and she sat down again._

"_That will do, Bellatrix. You have a duty to yourself and to your family. I will hear no more about it, do you understand?"_

"_But Cissy doesn't have to . . ."_

"_ENOUGH, Bella. Narcissa is three years your junior. We will arrange her marriage when the time is good and proper. Now is not that time. Now that WILL DO."_

_And with that, Bellatrix's mother strode out of the room, leaving her 11-year old daughter in shock and dreading a life she no longer had control of._

_END FLASHBACK_

Bellatrix jumped as Lestrange's teeth dug sharply into her ear.

"Ouch!"

She pushed him off with force, and he looked at her with malice in his eyes.

"Now baby, you don't really mean that, do you?" He raised his hand.

Bellatrix sighed inwardly. "No, Rudy, of course not."

She stepped forwards into his embrace, and Lestrange grinned. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he pulled her into him. Bellatrix responded, replacing his eyes with ones that she could pull to mind instantaneously, the stony grey ones that belonged to the all powerful Lord Voldemort.

--

Lily was sitting. Uncomfortably. Very uncomfortably. Which was really her own fault, since she was trying to make sure she didn't fall asleep. Unfortunately, she was losing the battle. Luckily, just as her eyes started to droop downwards, she heard a bang, and two voices entered the common room.

"Can you believe he made us stay for four hours?? FOUR hours? As if we don't have enough work to do already."

"Since when have we been worried about work, Padfoot?"

Sirius Black and James Potter entered the common room, bags swinging as they moved towards the stairs leading to the dormitories. Lily heaved herself off the chair, knocking over a pile of books she had brought downstairs to keep herself occupied.

At the loud bang they made hitting the floor, the boys turned around, noticing Lily for the first time.

"Oh, look James, its Evans." Sirius winked.

"Why, so it is! Now, what could you be doing up this late, Evans? Catching up on some homework?"

The boys laughed good naturedly to themselves and stepped closer to Lily.

"No, well, I, uh . . ." Lily spluttered.

"Spit it out, Evans, we haven't got all night." Sirius laughed.

James turned to him with a stern eye. "Give her a sec, Padfoot." He turned to Lily. "What's doing, Lilyflower?"

Lily grimaced at the use of her nickname, largely to cover up the butterflies she was feeling in her stomach. "Well, I was hoping I could speak to you, Potter. Alone." She looked determinedly at Sirius, who shrugged.

"I'm gone. Prongs man, see you around."

James and Sirius slapped hands together, and Sirius left the room.

James turned to Lily. "What's up?"

Lily sighed. "I just, well, I, uh, I . . . I wanted to say sorry for how I acted before. It was really nasty of me, and definitely uncalled for. So, I'm sorry."

James grinned and rubbed his hand on her shoulder. "Apology accepted, Evans." He turned to go. "Nighty night!"

At that, James left the common room, leaving a bemused Lily standing behind him, wondering why on earth her shoulder felt like it had been zapped by a bolt of lightening.

--

James walked up the stairs to the boys dorm slowly, savouring the moment he had just witnessed. Lily had not only apologised for the way she had acted earlier (which, he had to admit, had surprised him a HUGE amount), but she had also not pulled away when he'd touched her shoulder. That was, by James' accounts, great progress. As he opened the door softly (so as not to wake his sleeping dorm mates inside), he smiled broadly.

As James closed the door behind him, he heard a loud "OI!" and jumped a good foot into the air. Muffled laughter erupted from the middle four poster bed, and the curtains ripped open to reveal not only Sirius (to whom the bed belonged) but Remus and Peter Pettigrew as well. The boys had obviously been engaged in a fight of some kind, because Remus was rubbing his elbow, and Peter was dangling precariously off the curtain hangers. James laughed out loud.

"What in the name of Merlin are you doing?"

"Well, Prongsie my man, that is an excellent question. The more excellenter one . . ."

Remus frowned at such improper use of the English language and Sirius rolled his eyes back, startling a laugh out of Peter, who lost his balance and plunged to the floor with a loud BANG. The boys laughed as Peter staggered to his feet and straightened out his raggy pyjamas.

"As I was saying," Sirius continued, "The BETTER (Remus smiled) question is, what have YOU been doing? Namely with a lovely specimen by the name of Lily Evans?"

Sirius waggled his eyebrows at James, who ignored him completely. The three boys waited, and waited just a bit longer . . . and then James could hold it in no longer. Sitting on the middle of his four poster bed, he sighed.

"She just wanted to apologise for before." He grinned goofily.

"Oh, James, you've got it bad," Remus laughed.

"I know," he replied, flopping on the bed. "You know her best, you patrol with her sometimes. What does she like? How can I win her over?"

"Well," Remus began, his eyebrows creased in concentration. "Firstly, you can't 'win' over Lily Evans. She's more likely to want to get to know you, see what you're really like."

"Yeah," laughed Sirius. "You're really a horny bloke who . . ."

"OI!" James sat up and threw his pillow at Sirius. "I am NOT horny!"

Sirius nearly wet himself laughing, and after a minute or two, James was forced to join him. After a minute or so, James sobered up.

"Ok, so maybe I am a little, but I want more out of a relationship with Evans. I want, oh, I don't know. I just feel like I'm a better person when she's around, like the light inside her shines directly on my heart."

Remus shook his head, amused. "James, my friend, I think maybe your intentions are better than I originally thought. I think I may have the answer . . ."

The four boys gathered into a tight knit circle on Sirius' bed and began to plot.

--

The next couple of days passed in a flurry (without James Potter hassling her, thank goodness), and before Lily knew it, she was waking up to a beautiful Saturday morning, one that promised an excellent day ahead. She stood, and went to the window, watching as the giant squid frolicked (as much as a giant squid can frolic . . .) in the lake. A large thump ripped her from her reverie, as Alice fell out of her bed and onto the floor.

"Ooof," Alice murmured. "Just another minute . . . another minute . . ."

Lily laughed. "Alice, you goof, wake up, you're on the floor again."

Alice's lifted her head a few inches, and said groggily, "Are you sure?"

Giggling, Lily walked over to her friend. "Feel this?" She rapped the floor, which echoed resoundingly. "It's the hollow sound of the floor."

Alice turned her head to both sides and groaned. "So it is." Flopping back to the floor, she began to snore again.

- - - -

Shortly after, Alice and Lily made their way down to Hogsmeade with a gaggle of other students. Smiling at the antics of a couple of over-excited third years, the girls made their way through the streets of the Wizarding village to The Three Broomsticks, and ordered Butter Beers from Madam Rosmerta. They sat at a table at the far end of the pub, chattering about the events of recent days.

"So, Lily, I was thinking about Frank the other day and how his eyes shine so brightly . . . ."

Conversation turned the Alice's recent obsession (namely Frank Longbottom) and Lily found her mind wandering . . . . to her own, slight, obsession. One which had avoided her like the plague for the last couple of days. Lily sighed, she must have imagined the electricity between them, the jolt she had felt at his touch, the . . .

"Lily Evans, are you even listening to me?" Alice's voice cut through her reverie.

Shaking herself, Lily smiled at Alice. "Of course, you were saying about Frank?"

Alice grinned. "And his amazing eyes . . . ."

The girls finished their drinks and headed outside.

"Honeydukes next?" Alice queried. "I really need some more chocolate frogs, or some of those sugar quills . . ."

"Suuuuuu . . . what in the name of Merlin is going on?" Lily stopped dead in her tracks.

Students were rushing towards the centre of town; one of them grabbed Lily, saying "Hurry up!"

"What for?" Confused, Lily and Alice followed the crowd. Right smack bang in the middle of town stood James Potter, wearing a hideous lime green T-shirt emblazoned with the letters "NKIH", helping an elderly Hogsmeade resident with her shopping.

Lily shook her head in disbelief. As she turned to face Alice, she spotted Sirius Black sweeping the porch of Madame Puddifoot's. Turning again, she saw Remus and Peter also completing similar tasks. Lily shook her head again, this time in amazement.

"What do you think they're doing?" Alice whispered to her, drawing Lily back into the present.

"I have no idea, but I'm sure they're up to no good."

Students stood around, applauding the efforts of the Marauders. James looked up, and, spotting Lily, grinned and waved in her direction.

"That's it," Lily said to Alice, a note of firmness in her voice. "I'm going to find out what they're doing. They can't just, just . . ." Her voice trailed off.

"Can't just what, Lily?"

Lily ignored Alice and headed over to where James was standing.

"Potter, what on EARTH are you doing?"

James smiled goofily at Lily, and pointed to his shirt.

"NKIH? What is that supposed to mean?"

"We're the NKIH . . . the Nicest Kids in Hogsmeade!" James beamed at Lily.

"You're what?"

"The Nicest Kids in Hogsmeade. We (me, Sirius, Remus and Peter) decided it was time to do something nice for the kind citizens of Hogsmeade who make life so easy for us."

Lily smiled bemusedly. "I think you've finally lost it, Potter."

And with that, she grabbed Alice's hand and the two girls headed back to Hogwarts, leaving a very unsure James Potter behind trying to figure out whether his grand plan had worked or not.

--

A/N: It's occurred to me that Alice was not actually Alice Longbottom in the books because she hasn't married Frank yet. My apologies for error . . . does anyone know her real last name?


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: chapter three! Yay! :D And a HUGE thank you to all the reviewers (especially those who have tried to help with Alice's last name). Alas, no answers, so we shall now know Alice as simply "Alice" . . . no last name. :D This chapter we start the singing - hope you like!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

**Chapter Three: It Takes Two**

It had been three days since the NKIH Incident, as Lily was now referring to it. Three blissful days in which James Potter had avoided her like the plague. And now Lily found herself missing him. She shook her head, and caught the attention of Remus, who was patrolling next to her.

"Something the matter, Lily?"

"No, not really," Lily sighed. "It's just, oh, never mind."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

Silence fell, as the two prefects continued their stroll up the corridors of Hogwarts. Lily's head filled with itself with questions she could ask the ever-obliging Remus, like, for example, what the HELL had been the go with the Nicest Kids in Hogsmeade? And WHY had James stopped talking to her? And why did her heart feel like it was going to stop beating at any moment?

While Lily was contemplating her own situation, Remus was concentrating on putting on foot in front of the other without falling over. It had been a full moon two days ago, and he had (as he always did) spent the time running rampant in the Shrieking Shack with the other Marauders. As a result, Remus was more than a little tired, and certainly had had enough of patrolling. He glanced at his watch and stifled a yawn – half an hour to go. Damn.

He was about to open his mouth and attempt some form of conversation with Lily (to see if he could find out what she felt about the NKIH plan, and if nothing else to make the time pass quicker – honestly, who's idea was it to make patrols go for three hours!!) when the two prefects stumbled upon something surprising, but not (as Remus was forced to concede later) totally unexpected.

There, sitting smack bang in the middle of the hall was a VERY surprised (and half naked) Sirius Black. Standing in front of him was a girl with blonde hair, and she was VERY mad.

"Sirius Black, you BASTARD!! How could you try something like THAT?? I'm disgusted, and WE ARE OVER!"

The girl made to walk away, but was grabbed by Sirius (who had, by this time, reacted enough to stand up).

"But Clara, I thought this was what you wanted . . . what WE wanted . . ."

The girl (Clara) ripped her arm out of Sirius's grip. "How could you think SLEEPING WITH YOU was what I wanted??"

"Baby, it's what every girl in Hogwarts wants," Sirius winked at her.

Clara drew herself up to her full height (a whole 158cm), and delivered her parting line. "Not every girl."

Sirius had the decency to look injured as Clara stalked down the hall. She got to where Lily and Remus were standing, and froze. Lily turned to Remus, noting that he too had become very still, a sad expression flitting across his face.

"I, uh, I, erm . . . I have to go," Clara stammered, brushing past Remus, a blush forming on her cheeks.

Remus turned to Sirius, who shrugged. "I suppose I can't have every girl, Moony."

Remus shook his head, unsure of what to say. Lily brushed past both boys, eager to get her patrolling over with. Remus waved apologetically at Sirius, and ran to catch up with her.

"Well, I suppose things are never dull with Sirius around," he said.

"I suppose not."

--

It was perhaps midnight or a little later when Remus finally returned to the Gryffindor common room, having gone to the library to be alone with his thoughts when he and Lily finished their patrolling. Remus trudged up the stairs to the dorm, and slowly opened the door, unsure if his friends inside would be sleeping.

A pillow went soaring through the open doorway, and Remus sighed. He should have guessed.

"OI, Moony! Grab that pillow for me, would you??" Sirius' dulcet tones echoed through the dorm.

Remus grabbed said mentioned pillow and threw it back at Sirius, who ducked it just in time and it knocked over the light on his nightstand. Sirius laughed.

"Nice shot, Moony!"

Remus said nothing, but went straight to his bed, pulled on his pyjamas and crawled inside, drawing the curtains around him. The other three boys in the room stared at each other, before congregating on James's bed.

"What's wrong with Lupin?" James asked.

"No idea, Prongs, not a clue."

Peter sat expressionless and opinion-less. He shook his head, and then a thought came to him.

"Maybe it's got something to do with a girl!"

Sirius laughed. "Lupin, and a GIRL?? No way, Wormtail, no way in this sweet world."

At that, Remus (who hadn't really been sleeping) flung open his curtains and faced his friends. "Why not, Sirius?"

Sirius laughed again. "Look, Moony, don't take this the wrong way, but you and girls just don't seem to go together. I mean, you've never even spoken about one before, nor have you ever reacted to one at all." He paused. "Except blondie, whats-her-name."

"Her name is Clara."

James smiled. "Aha! So it is a girl! Well done Wormtail!" He clapped Peter on the back (much to Peter's surprise – he never had a thought that was right!), and stood up, walked over to Remus and sat on his bed. "Tell us all about it, Moony."

"No thank you. I, for one, prefer to keep my troubles out of the way of interfering friends."

"Ouch." James actually had the decency to look a little hurt, but then shook it off. "Ok, Moony, whatever you want. Night."

And with that, James walked over to his own four poster bed, pushed the others off it, pulled the curtains and went to sleep.

--

Bellatrix Lestrange was, once again, having a bad day. It seemed that all her days were bad at the moment, and she sighed, hoping beyond hope that soon everything would get better. She looked up and down the hallway once, and then began the pacing that would open the Room of Requirement so she could, once again, visit with Lord Voldemort.

Shortly after, Bellatrix arrived in Albania, and walked straight into the room in the little cave (if you could really call it a 'room') where Voldemort was waiting for her.

"Ah, my little Bellatrix. It's about time you came back to visit me."

Bellatrix made a small bow in his direction and smiled. "I have missed you, my Lord. Good morning."

"It is never a good morning, Bellatrix, when it has been three weeks since I saw you last. What has kept you? I thought I ordered you to report in every three to four DAYS, not three to four WEEKS!"

"My apologies, my Lord. It won't happen again."

"It better not." The Dark Lord paused. "I have missed you, Bella. It is very lonely here in Albania."

Something that looked a lot like regret passed across his face, and Bella softened. Bellatrix walked towards him, and rubbed her hand along his arm to comfort him. He shivered against her touch, savouring it, but then pushed her off.

"What have you to report?"

Bellatrix walked back a few steps cautiously. "Absolutely nothing, my Lord. The fool simply waits, it is as if he doesn't even realise what's going on. Maybe we should strike now, while he . . ."

Lord Voldemort cut her off. "Enough Bella, you have no idea what is at stake here, how much I have to lose. It is easy enough for you to say that we should do this now, and this later, but you know nothing of the consequences! Nothing!"

Bella took the opportunity to fight back. "Maybe you should tell me then! Or am I just a little slave girl, spying and doing your bidding, but without any mind or thoughts of my own? Is that how you see me?"

Lord Voldemorts face contorted into a grin (if that was even possible), and Bella was forced to grimace at the expression. "Shall I tell you what we're fighting for, my Bellatrix? Shall I tell you how much we have to lose?"

"Yes, yes, I long to know," she whispered in reply. "Tell me."

"Fine, Bella, I shall tell you, but only what I think you need to know."

She crept closer to his chair, and sat on the floor, a look of rapture upon her face. Lord Voldemort opened his mouth and began to tell her the truth of his story, what and why he was what he was, noting that as he spoke, she seemed to be unable to resist. As she left, having absorbed all he had to tell, Voldemort smiled. He finally had his one faithful servant.

--

Upon her return to Hogwarts, Bellatrix sought some solace in the 4th floor girls' bathroom. Normally, she would be in a hurry to return to the normal world, but today seemed like it could drag on for eternity, and it wouldn't bother her. Finally, she knew the truth. Finally, she knew what they fought for.

As she left the bathroom and began the traipse back to the Slytherin dungeons, someone grabbed her arm, and pulled her into an empty classroom. Bellatrix sighed internally as she saw who it was.

"Hi Rudy, how's it going?"

Rudolphus Lestrange smiled at her. "Good baby, good. And you?"

Bellatrix was slightly shocked. Never, ever, had Rudy Lestrange ever asked her how she was. "Erm, I'm good."

Lestrange took a step towards her. "Listen, Bellatrix, I've been thinking."

_There's a worry,_ Bellatrix thought, _although, maybe he'll knock himself out and leave me alone . . ._

"Mmmmm?"

"I've been thinking that maybe we should be friends. I mean, we're engaged and all, but I was thinking that maybe we could be friends as well. I really like you, Bella."

Bellatrix was now more than shocked. "What have you been eating, Rudy?"

"What do you mean, baby? All I'm saying is that I like you, I really like you." He took a step closer to her, and put his hand up to cup her cheek. "And I think that you like me too."

"Erm, I, uh . . . I have to go, Rudy. Sorry." And with that, Bellatrix was gone, leaving a shocked Lestrange behind.

"I think I'm even in love with you," he whispered, watching her figure retreat out the door and into the hall. "I really do."

--

At about the same time (very late on a Thursday night), James, Sirius, Remus and Peter were sitting in the Gryffindor common room writing their Transfiguration essays that were due the next day. Well, James and Sirius were writing their essays – Peter had long ago fallen asleep, and Remus was staring blankly into the fireplace, a discarded quill lying at his feet.

After what seemed a decade (but was probably only a minute or two), James put his quill down with a satisfied sigh.

"Thank Merlin that's over and done with!"

"Speak for yourself," Sirius retorted. "I still need a conclusion, an introduction and four more middle paragraphs."

Remus finally shook himself from his reverie. "That's the entire essay, Padfoot. Haven't you done anything yet?"

"I've got a title!"

James looked over at Sirius's parchment. Sure enough, there was the title, and a lot of blank space after it. He laughed.

"I think you've got a long way to go, Padfoot."

"Ah well," Sirius replied. "I can easily charm my way out of McGonagall's bad books." He winked at Remus, who rolled his eyes and turned to James.

"So, ah, James, I spoke to Lily the other night."

James looked at him expectantly. "Yeah? What did she say?"

"Well, almost nothing, actually. But she seemed really deep in thought, like something was puzzling her."

James sighed. "She's been avoiding me for days. I've barely even seen her, so I haven't had the opportunity to ask her what she thought of the NKIH. I don't know, guys, maybe she's not right for me."

Sirius sat bolt upright in his chair. "Doth mine ears deceive me? Did I just hear James Potter say that Lily Evans is not right for you?"

"Well, I mean, she is, but she just hasn't realised it yet. You know?"

He stood up, grabbed Sirius's non-existent essay and screwed it up to form a microphone ("Hey, that's mine!" yelled Sirius).

Striding into the middle of the room, James began to sing.

"_They say it's a man's world  
Well, that cannot be denied  
But what good's a man's world  
Without a woman by your side  
And so I will wait  
Until that moment you decide"_

Sirius and Remus stood behind him, and together (and in perfect harmony) they sang:

"_That I'm your man  
And you're my girl  
That I'm the sea  
And you're the pearl  
It takes two, baby,  
It takes two"_

On the opposite side of the school, Lestrange shut the door to the classroom (unfortunately locking himself inside), grabbed a blackboard duster off the sideboard, and also began to sing.

"_A king ain't a king  
Without the pow'r behind the throne  
A prince is a pauper. Babe,  
Without a chick to call his own  
So please, darling, choose me  
I don't wanna rule alone  
Tell me"_

All four wizards (in their two separate parts of the school) chimed in for the chorus,

"_I'm your king  
And you're my queen  
That no one else  
Can come between  
It takes two, baby,  
It takes two"_

Lestrange stepped forward, singing,

"_Lancelot had Guinevere  
Mrs. Claus has old St. Nick"  
_

James stepped forward, with Sirius and Remus 'ooooh' ing behind him.

"_Romeo had Juliet  
And Liz, well, she has her dick"_

Right at that moment, Peter awoke, and, finding himself in the middle of what sounded (and looked) like a very gay musical mess, screamed out loud. The music stopped. James, Sirius and Remus turned to stare at him.

"Liz has her WHAT??"

Straightaway (and totally deadpanned), Remus replied, "Her Dick."

All four boys stared at each other, and then, as one, they all burst into laughter. As they laughed, Lestrange (on the other side of the school), finished the song they had started, staring off blissfully into space and dreaming of Bellatrix.

"_It takes two, baby,_

_Oh, oh, oh, it takes two."_

The boys eventually calmed themselves down, and gathered their school books.

"Ok, I give up," Sirius said. "I'm going to bed. All this dancing and singing nonsense has given me a headache."

Peter silently agreed. After all, it wasn't every day that you wake up to find all three of your best friends dancing around like crazy men.

--

The following morning, the four Marauders overslept, their singing and dancing efforts from the previous evening clearly tiring them out. (Oddly, Rudy Lestrange also overslept, much to the disgust of his friends.)

As the four boys trudged downstairs to their second class (having missed their first . . . AND breakfast, more importantly), Remus noticed a sign tacked up on the notice board. As he read it blearily, excitement welled up in his chest, and he called out for his friends to come have a look.

"Hey guys, guess what? There's going to be a Hogwarts Royal Ball!"

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Since when have we been interested in a Ball and such related activities as dancing?" He blushed. "With the exception of last night's antics, of course . . ."

James was the first to cut in against him. "But Balls equal girls in dress robes – beautiful girls in dress robes trying to out do each other. Beautiful girls such as Lily Evans . . ."

"Point duly noted, Prongsie my man, and might I add, I like your way of thinking. We must attend this Ball!"

Unnoticed by the three boys (all of whom were busily dreaming of the perfect girl dressed in the perfect robes trying to seduce them), Peter blushed a deep crimson and averted his face. He hated Balls. He hated them with a deep passion.

--

A/N: And there's chapter three! Not much of Lily this chapter, but I promise there will be much more of her next one. Please send me a review, I'd love to know what you think!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: more singing this chapter! Enoy!

**Chapter Four: I Can Hear the Bells**

The announcement of the Hogwarts Royal Ball sent the entire school into a spin. Girls were running around everywhere (in packs of course . . . as Harry would notice 20 or so years later, girls NEVER go anywhere without a big group, especially when someone (namely a male someone) wants to talk to them alone). Boys were trying to remain cool, but secretly were spinning out.

And Lily Evans was annoyed. Really annoyed. It had been almost two weeks since NKIH, and James had barely even spoken to her. Not a word, just a brief smile in her direction if they happened to pass in the hall. She thought she was going mad (and had even thought she'd seen those bright NKIH shirts on various members of the student population, which of course, was totally absurd). Honestly, it was as if he had simply . . . got over her. And for some reason, Lily was quite put out by it.

It was while Lily was sitting in the library studying (and trying to avoid being annoyed . . .) that Alice finally tracked her down.

"Oh good Merlin, Lily. Where on EARTH have you been hiding? I've been looking for you forever!"

Alice dragged up a chair next to Lily, and plonked her head onto the desk.

"Oh, Lily," she sobbed. "It's terrible! It's been a whole two weeks since the announcement of the ball, and Frank has barely even looked at me! I really, really, really like him, and it's like I don't even exist!"

Lily sighed. She put her arm around Alice and made soothing noises.

"Shhhh, Alice, it's going to be ok. Maybe he's just nervous, or something."

Alice continued to sob. "But, but Lily, he said he liked me!"

"Exactly! He's just waiting for the perfect time."

"Are you sure?" Alice looked up hopefully. "Do you really think so?"

Lily smiled. "Of course."

Alice's head popped back up, and she wiped her tears away. "Well, then, that's that sorted. Now, what about you?"

Lily removed her hand from Alice's shoulders abruptly. "What about me?"

"Well, what's happening with James?"

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing."

Alice smiled knowingly. "Ok, Lily, if that's what you reckon. Hey, I've got to run, gonna go and see Frank. See you soon!"

Lily shook her head as Alice bounced (quite literally, much to the disgust of Madam Pince, the librarian, who shook her head disapprovingly at her as she left) out the door. Alice had left her with quite a thing to ponder. Frank was behaving almost exactly the same way as James. Maybe it was that James was feeling a bit nervous too? But no, that couldn't be it. James was always so confident . . . maybe it was that he didn't like her anymore . . . Lily felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Maybe he didn't like her . . .

Lily was confused. She'd never felt this way before. In the past, James had annoyed her immensely with his constant attentions. But now that he wasn't annoying her, it was almost as if she missed it. And yet, it was totally against her own beliefs to be into James Potter.

Suddenly, Lily could hear a ringing bell in her ears. And then it hit her.

"Oh, my. I'm think in love with James Potter."

--

Sirius Black was in detention. Again. For the fourth time this week. For the second week of five. FIVE weeks of detention. And without James, who had actually done his homework for once. He smiled bitterly. It had almost been worth it . . . almost.

McGonagall had been less than impressed by the lack of Transfiguration essay. She had been even less impressed by Sirius's response as to why he hadn't done it.

_FLASHBACK_

_The Transfiguration class was filing out. The Marauders packed up their bags and were on their way to lunch, when a voice rang out._

"_Mr Black, a word, if you please." The tone of McGonagall's voice indicated that this was an order, not a request, regardless of how it was phrased. James, Remus and Peter looked apologetically at Sirius. _

"_Good luck, Padfoot."_

_Sirius sighed and walked back to the Professor's desk. McGonagall had a stern look on her face, but Sirius winked at her._

"_And what may I help you with, Professor?"_

"_Enough of that attitude, Black. Why didn't you hand in your last Transfiguration essay?"_

"_Oh, that's easy, Professor. I didn't do it." He smiled._

"_You didn't do it. Of course." Sarcasm dripped from her voice. "Do you realise what year you are in, Mr Black?"_

"_Sure, Professor. This is the best year of my life."_

"_No, Black, this is the year before your NEWTs. BEFORE you take the tests designed to decide the rest of your life. Do you not realise how important it is?" Her voice raised a few tones._

"_Hmmmm," Sirius pretended to think. "Nah, Professor, I think this is the year I get lucky with you." He winked at her . . . ._

_END FLASHBACK_

It had all gone downhill from there. McGonagall had given him five weeks detention. Every night. To write his Transfiguration essay, and then to write essays for other topics as well. And to top it all off, James hadn't come to rescue him yet.

McGonagall, being far too busy to personally supervise her detainees, had left them in charge of a very young (and equally easy to sway) 5th year Prefect. As a result, Sirius had snuck out of detention 7 out of the 8 times he had been in so far. And usually within the 1st hour. But it was now almost half past ten, and James was nowhere in sight. It seemed that James was not coming. Scowling, Sirius continued to 'work' on his essay, muttering choice expletives under his breath.

--

_FLASHBACK TO TWO HOURS PREVIOUSLY . . . ._

James slipped his invisibility cloak out of his trunk. Looking at his watch, he grinned. It had been half an hour since Sirius had begun detention, almost time to break the poor bugger out. It had been a spectacular effort that landed him there, though. Him and Peter had nearly killed themselves laughing as they listened outside the door. Poor thing, though, to have pissed McGonagall off that much to give him detention, although it had been rather risky . . .

James started down the stairs to fetch Sirius. He gave the Gryffindor Common Room a cursory glance (practically empty) before heading out the portrait hole. Then he heard a strange sound that made him turn back. Sure enough, sitting in the far corner of the room (trying to hide herself) sat Lily Evans, a discarded piece of parchment (that looked surprisingly like a letter) sitting on her knees, bawling her eyes out.

James paused. To comfort or not to comfort? He had been trying to give Lily some space, trying to see if by leaving her alone it would make her close to him, but now she was clearly in pain. On the other hand, Sirius was waiting for him to rescue him . . . The chivalrous part inside James won out. Muttering an apology to Sirius under his breath, James walked towards Lily. Stopping in front of her, he said,

"Lily, are you alright?"

--

_FLASHBACK TO 30 MINUTES BEFORE_

Lily had been calmly sitting in the common room, reading a novel (all about a fairly plump girl by the name of Tracey . . .), when the owl came to visit her. It was her own owl, Charlie, and Lily frowned, not remembering that she had sent it to her parents just the day before.

Charlie flew down to Lily and nipped her on the ear. Lily removed the letter from its leg, and read its short contents. A tear trickled down her cheek. The letter's contents were far from surprising, but it still hurt. Putting the letter down on her lap, she buried her face in her hands, hoping to cry herself out alone.

A few moments later, she heard a shuffling of feet in front of her, and a voice saying,

"Lily, are you alright?"

She looked up to find James Potter standing in front of her with a very concerned expression creasing his otherwise gorgeous face.

_Gorgeous face? Where the hell did that come from?_ She thought. Nevertheless, he had disrupted her grieving, and she retorted with as much force as she could muster,

"What do you want, Potter?"

James was slightly taken aback. Clearly grieving Lily could still have her temper as well.

"I, uh, I, well, I just saw you sitting here on your own and thought you might like a friend."

"Well, I . . ." Lily broke down again, and (against his better judgment) James sat down next to her and put his arm around his shoulders. For a brief second, Lily resisted, and then she curled up in his arms and sobbed against his shirt. James smiled. It felt good to have her close to him, to support her when she needed it. They sat together for quite a while (it could have been forever as far as James was concerned . . .), Lily sobbing into his shirt, and James gently stroking her hair. Finally, Lily pulled herself together, and gently pried herself out of his grasp. She wiped the tears of her cheeks, and looked at James apologetically.

"James, I . . . I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to get so upset. It's just, I, Petunia, she . . ."

She paused, and a tear trickled down her face again. James gently reached out and brushed it away, and as he did, Lily felt a spark of electricity jump between them.

"Shhhh, Lily. It's ok. Do you want to tell me what's wrong?" James whispered softly.

Lily turned away. "It's Petunia . . . my sister," she offered in explanation, seeing the confused look on James's face. "She, erm, well, she's . . . You're going to think I'm silly."

James grinned. "Nah, Evans, I wouldn't think that. I already do."

Lily stared at him, saw that he was smiling and tearily smiled back at him. "Whatever, Potter. But, well, Petunia . . . When I was little, I had a friend. His name was . . . well, it doesn't matter who he was. We were like childhood sweethearts. But then I came to Hogwarts, and he refused to speak to me. Not like I could have told him the reason I had to go anyway. Well, Petunia has barely spoken to me since I left. But she wrote to me. She wrote to tell me that he's, he's dead." A new wave of tears fell down her face. "I'm so sorry."

She jumped up, running towards the girls dorms. James clambered to his feet and called after her, "Lily, Lily wait!" She ignored him, and James was left to ponder the strange ways of women.

Half an hour later, James was still pondering, and then it hit him. He jumped up, with a (very loudly) muttered, "Holy Merlin, Padfoot!"

At that precise moment, the afore-mentioned Padfoot entered the Common Room (which was now completely deserted), noticed James standing in the corner, and strode over.

"What the HELL, Prongs? I thought you were supposed to break me out!! Where have you been?"

"I'm sorry, Padfoot, something, erm, well, something suddenly came up! And then, well, to be honest, I forgot."

"Something came up?? You expect me to believe that?"

"Look, mate, I was on my way to break you out, and then I ran into Lily, who was really upset, and I had to be there for her."

"You had to be there for a girl who is barely even civil to you, let alone actually confides in you, instead of helping out an old friend? An old friend, who, I might add, was stuck in detention for a VERY LONG TIME!"

James sighed. "I know, Padfoot, it's a stupid excuse. But it's the only one I have and it's the truth. And if you can't accept that, well, that's tough."

And with that, James left the room, leaving a very pissed off Sirius Black to wonder who on earth the person he had just spoken with was, and what he had done with his friend.

--

Peter Pettigrew often found himself sitting alone, and today was very much similar to any other day. It had been three days since James and Lily's late night comforting, two and a bit weeks since Remus had first mentioned Clara, and several weeks since Sirius had even mentioned a girl. This was all very concerning for Peter (who often not only found himself sitting alone, but also living vicariously through his friends), because for his friends, girls were very important (even for Remus these days). Peter sighed. At least James and Sirius were talking again.

The thought of girls led Peter to a very recurring thought these days. The Hogwarts Royal Ball. Peter sighed. He would have killed to get a date to the Ball. And honestly, who goes to Ball on their own? Losers, that's who. Peter was convinced he would never get a date, and resigned himself spending the rest of his night alone brooding in his melancholy.

Fortunately (or unfortunately, as Peter would eventually decide), Remus entered the room at that moment, and threw himself onto his bed, emitting a very loud sigh in the process. Eager to get out of his own melancholy, and onto someone else's, Peter immediately got up, and joined Remus on his bed.

"What's, what's the matter, Remus?"

Remus looked around the room furtively. "Peter, before I say anything, you must swear to keep this all a secret. It can never get out. Ever. Do you swear?"

Slightly taken aback, Peter stuttered, "I swear" in response, and looked at Remus expectantly.

"It's Clara. I'm in love with her, and I think she's in love with me, and she's just perfect. I really wan to invite her to the ball, but I think that maybe she's not ready, and she's just . . . ."

Peter sighed. Looks like it was going to be a long night after all.

--

On the same night, Lily Evans was sitting resolutely on her bed, trying to decide exactly what was going on with her body. She felt absolutely heartsick, which could be attributed to the death of her friend, but could also be attributed to James Potter. Lily had been hearing the bells in her ears ever since the night she had found out about her friends death. Ever since the night James had held her and taken away her fears.

It was as if clarity had overridden her fears, and, despite the heartsick, Lily felt strangely in tune with herself. She smiled to herself, backing music began to play, and Lily found herself singing,

_I can hear the bells_

Alice entered the dorm room, heard the music, and saw Lily singing. Slightly concerned, she said, "Lily, are you alright?"

Lily ignored her, and continued her song,

_Well, don't cha hear them chime?_

Alice looked around the room. "I don't hear anything . . ." (_Except this absurd music,_ she thought.)

Ignoring her again, Lily continued to sing,

_  
All because he touched me  
He looked at me and stared, yes he  
Bumped me  
My heart was unprepared when he  
Tapped me  
And knocked me off my feet  
One little touch  
Now my life's complete_  
_Listen!  
I can hear the bells  
_

Throughout this verse, Alice had caught the gist of Lily's song, and, picking up her hairbrush to use as a microphone, she sang along with Lily, doing the 'round' parts of the song, and then pointing at Lily to sing the response.

_  
Round one  
He'll ask me on a date and then  
Round two  
I'll primp, but won't late because  
Round three's  
When we kiss inside his car  
Won't go all the way  
But I'll go pretty far!__Much to your surprise  
This book loving red head  
Takes the prize and...  
__I can hear the bells  
My ears are ringing  
I can hear the bells  
The bridesmaids are singing  
_

At this, Alice jumped on top of her bed, pretending to be said bridesmaid. The two girls laughed, and continued to dance around the room, singing along.

_  
Everybody says  
That a guy who's such a gem  
Won't look my way  
Well, the laugh's on them 'cause_

_Listen!  
I can hear the bells  
_

The song ended with the two girls back to back, crooning into their microphones. The music stopped. Lily looked at Alice. Alice looked at Lily. As one, the two girls burst into laughter, making the ache in Lily's heart slightly diminished.

Struggling to find her breath, Alice turned to Lily and said, "Well, that was fun, but really, Lily, I think marriage might be a bit much juuuuuust yet . . ."

--

A/N: And another chapter finished. Hope you liked it! Please review! I also wanted to mention that I do not own the song at all. It's from Hairspray, I changed a little bit of it, and I left bits out, but it definitely is not mine.

I also read this great fic today all about the physics associated with Quidditch. It's called "The Wonky Faint" by moshpitstories. It's totally awesome, I killed myself laughing.

Round four  
He'll ask me for my hand and then  
Round five  
We'll book the wedding band so by  
Round six


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five: The Ladies' Choice**

Despite the fact that Remus had sworn him to secrecy, Peter Pettigrew felt overcome with the urge to tell the whole world (well, at least, the whole school) that Remus Lupin was in love with someone. A girl someone. Which had never happened in all the years that he had known Remus. He smiled. However, Peter also knew Remus was one of his best friends, and ruining his life was not the way to go. Especially if he wanted to keep being friends with his fellow Marauders. Which he did. Really. Because if he did, he wouldn't have any friends at all.

But sometimes it was very hard. Surely Remus had known that when he swore Peter to secrecy. Peter sighed loudly, disturbing James, who looked at him quizzically.

"Something on your mind, Wormtail?"

Remus looked up from his work, and shot a hard glance at Peter.

"Erm, n-n-no, James, nothing," Peter stuttered.

"Ok, whatever."

Silence fell again, broken only by the entrance of Sirius, who loudly announced his presence by saying,

"Honey, I'm home!"

The multitude of first to third year girls that were currently occupying the Common Room burst into fits of giggles, and Sirius flicked his hair in their direction, winking at them as he went. He sat down with a flop on the couch next to James, and picked up his essay.

"Wow, Prongs man, this looks seriously hard core."

James grunted in reply, and took his essay back from Sirius. "Yeah, whatever. How was detention with McGonagall?"

Sirius grinned. "Great, as usual. And it's totally a bummer that she's decided to personally supervise my detentions now, because no more sneaking out. But on the plus side – the woman totally wants me."

Peter giggled in spite of himself. "How can you tell?"

Sirius outright laughed at Peter, as if what he'd said was the most hilarious thing he'd heard all day. "I just know, Wormtail, I just know. Trust me, when a woman wants you, she tells you, although not necessarily verbally."

Remus and James looked at each other and rolled their eyes.

"What's the go with the women act, Padfoot? You're normally more into younger girls." James winked at Sirius.

"Well, Prongs my man, I've recently decided that the younger generation," (nodding at the girls across the room, who giggled and waved flirtatiously at him) "simply cannot fulfill my needs. I need a real woman. One with a bit of grunt in her."

"So you're into McGonagall? That's sick, Black, even for you." Enter the dulcet tones of Miranda Jensen (fellow Gryffindor).

"Well, Miranda, if you would only agree to go out with me, maybe I'd be able to forget McGonagall . . ." Sirius winked suggestively at the blonde girl, who ignored him and turned to James.

"So, James, I was thinking. Maybe we could go to the Royal Ball together?" She fluttered her eyes at him, in what (she thought) was a seductive manner.

James (who was slightly disturbed by the speed at which she was blinking) smiled at her, and said, "I'm really sorry, Miranda, but I have to say no. I'm, uh, well, I'm kind of waiting for someone else."

Miranda was clearly disappointed. "Whatever, Potter. You'll regret that decision." She stalked off.

Peter was very impressed. "Wow, James, that's like the fourth girl you've turned down tonight alone! Not to mention the six that asked you at dinner and the two Ravenclaw babes we ran into in the hall after Potions this afternoon."

James shook his head. "I know, what can I say? I'm hot." He sighed, and shook his head. "But the one girl that I do want to ask to the ball barely knows I exist, and when she does, it's because she's crying about some other guy."

"I know, Prongs, it's a crying shame. But, seriously, what's wrong with Miranda? I mean, look at the chest on that girl . . ."

"That's not the only thing you should be looking at, Sirius," Remus retorted, somewhat aggressively. "I mean, what about . . ."

"You're right – she's also got a great ass," Sirius interrupted. Remus rolled his eyes disgustedly and turned back to his work.

James seemed to mull this information over in his head. After a few seconds, he turned to Sirius.

"You know, Padfoot, you're right. I mean, Lily doesn't seem to notice me that much, and really, I could have anyone in this whole school!"

He jumped off his seat with much energy, and walked over to the group of first to third years that Sirius had been eying before. Picking one (and pointing to her), he began to sing,

_Hey little girl with the cash to burn_

Peter jumped off his chair (the excitement of FINALLY being awake and ready for a musical number simply overcoming him), and sang (in loverly harmonious tones), "do do do, do do" in the background (after each line).

_Well I'm selling something you won't return  
Hey little girl take me off the shelf  
Cause it's hard having fun playing with yourself  
Once you browse through the whole selection  
Shake your hips in my direction_

James also did all the moves (including the shaking of hips), which made the girls absolutely wild. Seeing he was missing out on something good, Sirius jumped to his feet, and sang along with James to the chorus.

_Bringing it back if she never did see  
Take me home and then unwrap me  
Shop around with every dollar  
I've got to be  
The ladies' choice  
Ladies' choice  
The ladies' choice  
_

James turned to another girl, and sang along to her. The girl giggled, and her friends laughed and danced along to the music. Remus sighed, and also jumped to his feet, the music finally persuading him to have a go too. Together, all four boys sang the rest of the song, with James taking lead, and the others doing the back up.

_Hey little girl looking for a sale  
Test drive this American male  
It's going to take cash to fill my tank  
(It's going to take cash to fill my tank)  
So let's crack open your piggy bank  
(So let's crack open your piggy bank)  
Hey little girl if you're window shopping  
I got something that's traffic stopping_

_Hey little girl on a spending spree  
I don't come cheap but the kisses come free  
On closer inspection I'm sure that you'll agree  
I'm the ladies' choice  
The ladies' choice  
The ladies' choice  
_

As the song and the music ended, the four Marauders took an extravagant bow, and the girls in the common room applauded and whistled loudly, clearly impressed by their antics.

James got five more invites to the ball that night. Surprising even himself, he turned all of them down.

--

A/N: Sorry this was so short, I promise a longer chapter next time! I must also tell you all that I'm going overseas for the next 6 weeks, so there will be no updates in that time. Sorry for the long delay, but I promise I will write a new chapter as soon as I get back home to Oz. Thanks for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: I apologise for the delay in updating. I'd also like to remind folks that this fic is not in canon with the original HP series – in fact, it is definitely AU, so please don't tell me about that in reviews. Having said that, here's the next chapter and I hope you like it!

**Chapter Six: The Ladies' Choice – Part Two!**

Bellatrix was totally ignorant of the fact that the Hogwarts Royal Ball was rapidly approaching, and she was certainly NOT throwing herself at James Potter (as were two first years, a nervous looking, snotty nosed second year, and a very short 3rd year Hufflepuff boy (who maintained that he'd only asked James because he'd been dared by his friends)). She had far more important fish to fry. Lord Voldemort had finally confided in her, and now she felt an added importance to her mission.

It was not, as she had originally expected, simply that Voldemort wanted to rid the world of Albus Dumbledore because he was a good opposing force to his desire to control everything. It was far from that, far, FAR from that. Standing up from her bed in the wee hours of a Saturday morning merely two weeks from the Royal Ball, Bellatrix crossed the floor to her trunk, and rummaged around for her diary and a quill. She returned to her bed, and clambered in amongst the blankets, settling herself, and then she opened her diary and began to write.

_Dear Diary_ (A/N: cliché, I know, but who says Bellatrix doesn't have a soft side to her!)_,_

_I'm so sorry it has been so long since I have written but I have been trying to piece together everything that Lord Voldemort told me the last time I saw him. I'm still in shock, to be perfectly honest. I mean, who would have thought . . . I always knew my Lord held an intense hatred for Dumbledore, but I always thought it was because Dumbledore had stepped in the way of his plans or because my Lord wanted to torture some information out of Dumbledore, not because Dumbledore actually had . . . _

Something scuttled along the floor. Bellatrix froze, then shut her diary with such a force that her two roommates jumped in their sleep and turned to face her in their beds.

"What's the . . . what's the t-t-time?" yawned the first, a brunette with a large nose.

Bellatrix merely sneered at her, a gesture which the brunette returned then turned to her friend and asked the same question. The second girl turned to her bedside chest and looked at the watch she kept there.

"Four thirty! What in Merlin's name are you doing up so early, Bella?" she queried, rubbing her face with a tired hand. Bellatrix ignored her. "And why did you wake me up! I was having the most wonderful dream . . . I was dancing at the Royal Ball . . ."

Both girls sighed and, turning over, went back to sleep. Bellatrix barely concealed the sneer that was starting to cross her face, she was sick of hearing about the 'all wonderful' Hogwarts Bloody Royal Ball . . . Then she stopped. That was it! The Ball!! The perfect way to bring Voldemort into Hogwarts, everyone had to have a partner and she could bring Voldemort. It wasn't like Rudy was ever going to ask her anyway. Bellatrix lay back on her bed, her eyes closing as she imagined herself dancing the night away in the arms of her Lord . . . and bringing down Dumbledore as well . . .

--

James Potter was back to wearing his NKIH t-shirt, in the hopes that it would finally have the desired effect of making Lily take some notice of him. In fact, Lily had never stopped noticing him, but the combined efforts of trying to keep Alice from Frank and trying to study for her upcoming midterm exams was making Lily a little short of time.

Being short of time, Lily had taken to simply not going to bed, but sleeping in the Gryffindor common room so she could work right up until she fell asleep, and then simply wake up and get started again (it also meant that if Alice snuck down to see Frank, Lily would get enough prior warning to prevent it).

_FLASHBACK TO 48 HOURS PRIOR_

_Frank Longbottom was sitting on his own in the Gryffindor Common Room when a very upset 3__rd__ year girl stormed down from her dormitory, entered the Common Room and burst into tears. She settled herself in a chair by the fire and covered her face with her hands._

_Frank (being a very kind and generous person . . . and also a boy who cannot stand to hear girls blubbering away) stood up and, leaving his transfiguration homework on the table, went over to the girl and put his arms around her.  
_

"_What's the matter, Helena?" _

_Helena looked up at him and pouted, tears running down her cheeks. "I . . . I broke a . . . a . . . a nail!" A fresh wave of tears began to course down her face as she showed him the broken nail, and Frank hurried to stop his eyes rolling. _

"_Ah, now, that's no good! Don't panic, it'll grow back. Soon ish . . ."_

_Helena smiled bravely at him, and Frank patted her gently on the back. At this moment, Alice and Lily stepped through the portrait hole into the Common Room. Seeing Frank with his arms around another girl, Alice promptly burst into tears, ran up to him, slapped him on the face and stormed off to the girls dormitories, Lily hurrying along in her wake._

_Frank stood up and called after her, "No, Alice wait! It isn't what it looks like!"_

_But it was too late, Alice was gone. Frank sighed and looked at Helena, who was giving him an innocent little smile. Girls._

_END FLASHBACK_

Alice had been beside herself with rage, but, as Lily continued to point out, they weren't doing anything except sitting on the couch, and Alice and Frank weren't actually going out, so he wasn't even cheating on her. This little remark had earned Lily a day of frostiness from Alice, and she had given up on trying to talk her out of her little tantrum. Instead, she was now trying to make sure Alice didn't kill Frank before Alice got over it.

But back to the present. Lily had (as she had been doing for the last two days) fallen asleep in front of the fire, and was now snoring loudly, much to the amusement of a couple of first year boys who were heading out early, and a certain floppy haired glasses wearing boy, with his bright NKIH shirt on. As the portrait hole closed with a loud BANG, Lily jumped, bringing herself into full wakefulness. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and looked down at her lap, which was covered in parchment and a few old quills. Reaching for her new one (on the chair opposite), she noticed said mentioned dark haired boy and jumped for the second time in as many minutes, startling a laugh out of her intruder.

"You right there, Evans?" James asked, laughing.

"Mmmmm, I think so. You scared me! What are you doing, just standing there staring at me?"

"Precisely, Evans. I'm standing here staring at you." He winked at her.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Shouldn't you be studying? And why are you wearing that shirt again?"

James laughed and sat on the chair that her quill had just vacated, pointing at his shirt. "Baby, you noticed it! I knew you loved the shirt, so I've been wearing it, just for you!" He winked. "As for the studying, James Potter has a mega mind, he doesn't need to study. Besides, it's breakfast time. You hungry?"

Lily stared at him. "Well, aren't I just the lucky one? And no, I think I'll pass on breakfast, not all of us have 'mega minds'."

"Ok, then, see you round." And with that, James stood up and made for the door. At that moment, Lily's stomach chose to betray her and gurgled very loudly, making James turn and grin.

"Maybe I'm hungrier than I thought," Lily blushed, averting her eyes.

"Maybe. Do you want to come to breakfast with me, Evans?" James held his breath, hardly daring to tempt fate.

Lily thought about it for a moment, and then looked up at him and shrugged. "Sure, why not. Just let me change first?"

James winked, an ecstatic grin appearing on his face. "Sure thing, Lily-flower. I'll wait forever for you!"

Lily shook her head at his dramatics, and then, gathering her things, headed up to her dorm. _I'm about to have breakfast with James Potter,_ she thought wryly. _I must be feeling sick._

Meanwhile, James was downstairs congratulating himself on finally getting Evans to do something pleasant with him. _I'm about to have breakfast with Lily Evans,_ he thought excitedly. _Must be my lucky day!_

--

Rudolphus Lestrange paced in front of the staircase leading to the girls' dormitories, waiting for Bella to finally make her appearance. It had been a good week since he last saw her (and not that long since he'd realised he was in love with her), and he was determined to once and for all make things ok between them. He also was planning on asking her to the Ball.

Finally, his efforts paid off, and Bellatrix entered, looking (to his eyes) as beautiful and radiant as ever. He smiled at her and she shook her head slightly.

"What do you want, Rudy?" Brushing past him, she made to exit the Common Room, but he blocked her off.

"I, I uh, I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry."

"For what?" Bellatrix was a little confused. In all the time she'd known him, Rudolphus had NEVER apologised for anything. "You're acting strange, Lestrange, even for you. Leave me alone."

"But Bella, I want to make it right between us."

Now Bellatrix was definitely confused. "What in Merlin's name is UP with you today? First you want to apologise, and now you want to make it right? Make WHAT right?"

Rudy took her hand and pulled her towards a couch. "I know you don't want to be engaged to me, and I know I've been an arse lately, but really, I can change. I want us to be friends."

"Fine, whatever, we can be friends." She made to leave, but Rudy pulled her back.

"Really?" He smiled broadly at her. "Then, Bellatrix, my friend, will you go to the Ball with me?"

The look on Bellatrix's face gave her answer away before she said anything, and Rudolphus felt his will crushing under her stern gaze. She needn't have said the words, but Bella was feeling particularly vindictive that morning and so she said them.

"Never in a million years. Besides," she walked away, and delivered her final words as she exited the room. "There's someone else."

--

"Padfoot, I have a good feeling about today," James said to Sirius later that morning. "I think I'm going to get lucky."

"Lucky with whom?"

James grinned and whacked Sirius on the head. Sirius tried to whack him back, but missed, hitting Remus in the shoulder instead.

"Ouch! Watch who you're hitting, Padfoot, not all of us are muscly!"

James laughed, while Sirius flexed his biceps suggestively.

"You really think I'm muscly, Remy?" he winked, and Remus rolled his eyes. "But anyway, Prongs my man, lucky with whom?"

"Not with whom, Sirius, with what. I'm finally going to finish my essays today, and when I hand them in, they're going to get O's."

"And why is that, James?"

"Because I had breakfast with Lily Evans this morning."

The Marauders stopped dead in their tracks. James kept walking until he heard Remus . . .

"You . . ." began Remus.

"Had breakfast . . ." said Sirius.

"With Lily . . ." continued Remus.

"Evans?" they concluded together.

James grinned and winked at the two boys. "Yep."

He stood dramatically, and sang,

"_On closer inspection I'm sure that you'll agree-ee-ee,_

_I'm the ladies choice!"_

All three boys laughed and continued down the hall, a definite spring in their step. Indeed it was a lucky day if Lily Evans had had a civilized breakfast with James, and if luck was in the air, well then, they were going to take full advantage.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Again, I apologise for the loooooooong delay, but here's chapter seven! Enjoy, and please review!

**Chapter Seven: The New Girl in Town**

New students in higher grades at Hogwarts were rare occurrences, so it was needless to say that when one Amelia Lockhart arrived on the same morning as James's breakfast with Lily, Hogwarts was running on a very high buzz.

Peter was the first of the Maruauders to notice Amelia, having walked past her in the hall (well, he reflected later, having stopped bang in the centre of the hall and staring as she walked past in all her red-headed glory). Once he was able to walk again (and pick his jaw up off the floor), he ran head-on into James, who was completely unperturbed by the event.

"You alright there, Wormtail?" he asked, picking a very stunned Peter off the floor.

"I uh, well, I uh . . . there's a new girl," he spluttered, looking everywhere but directly at his friends, face turning a fierce shade of red.

Sirius laughed. "Are you sure, Wormy? Maybe you just haven't seen this one before. What did she look like? I know all the girls at this school by sight." He winked at Remus, who rolled his eyes.

"She's beautiful," Peter sighed.

"Well, that describes 95% of the girls at this school!" Sirius walked up to Peter and slapped his face. "I need details Wormy, details!"

Peter frowned at Sirius and rubbed his cheek where he'd been slapped. He opened his mouth to offer a smart retort and was then stopped in his tracks by the appearance of the red-headed girl causing all the chaos. He closed his mouth and opened it again, jerking his head in her direction when he was unable to articulate any words.

James and Sirius laughed and turned their heads towards Amelia, who was walking towards them with determination. Sirius fixed his goofy grin on his face and walked up to her.

"Hey babe, you must be new." He winked.

Amelia stared at Sirius with slight derision. "And aren't you just the brightest lightbulb in the bunch?"

She turned to look at the other Marauders, noting with amusement that the boy with the dark floppy hair was staring at her with vapid interest, while the other two were looking at the floor (Remus) and staring intensely at her with a look of bewilderment (Peter).

She turned back to Sirius. "Now, which one of you can show me where I can find my cousin Clara? I think she's in Gryffindor house?"

James brushed past Sirius to take Amelia's hand. "I think I can show you that. I'm James Potter, by the way." He grinned.

Amelia smiled back at him as Sirius grabbed her other hand. "That's ok, Prongs man, don't you have to be getting ready for Quidditch or something? I can show Amelia." He took her other hand, which Amelia pulled firmly from his grip.

"Wow, a Quidditch star?" she asked James, taking his arm. "I just love watching Quidditch. Maybe you can show me your moves later."

"Did I say Quidditch? I meant you have essays to write, don't you James?" Sirius again took Amelia's hand and started walking towards the Gryffindor Common Room. "I'm also on the Quidditch team, I'm a natural on a broom." He winked at her.

Peter sighed to himself. It looked as though another girl argument between Padfoot and Prongs. He never stood a chance with girls with them around. Peter wondered to himself why James was making such a solid argument for this girl, considering he kept on telling them he was in love with Lily.

"Padfoot, my friend, I think the lady wanted to go with me to see her cousin . . . uh, what was your cousin's name again?"

"Her name is Clara," came a new voice from up the hall. "And I'm right here. Hi Amelia! I'm so glad to see you!"

Amelia pulled herself from the reluctant grasp of both James and Sirius and ran towards three girls walking down the hallway. She threw herself into Clara's arms for a tight hug, both girls squealing loudly. James looked up. With Clara also came Alice . . . and another red-head whom he was crazy for.

"Hey Lils!" he called, flipping his hair off his face.

"Fighting over another girl, James?" Lily retorted, pain etched across her face.

"Yeah, well, you know, gotta keep in practice, right Padfoot?" Sirius winked at the girls.

"Yeah, right, whatever," Lily said, grabbing Alice's arm. "Come on, let's go."

The girls turned to walk back towards the Gryffindor Tower, Amelia turning back to wave at the boy who stared at her with such a vapid expression.

Sirius mistook her affection to be directed at him, and called after them, "Let me know if you still want to see my broom Amelia!"

Remus shook his head, turning to face James.

"What have I done?" James said miserably. "I didn't even think she was that pretty."

The Marauders walked slowly up the corridor, lost in their own thoughts; Sirius of exultation, Remus of bemusement, Peter of confusion and James of the deepest regret.

* * *

Ever since refusing Rudy's invitation to the ball, Bella had been itching to go to Albania to ask Voldemort instead. Unfortunately, homework had come thick and fast in the coming days and it had been, again, a number of weeks before she finally made it back to Lord Voldy's domain.

Voldemort had been in a surprisingly good mood on her arrival, and forgave Bella her transgression almost immediately.

"It is of no concern, Bella, I am merely glad that you have finally arrived to see me again. What have you to report to Lord Voldemort?"

"Hogwarts is holding a ball, my lord," Bella smiled almost in spite of herself.

Voldemort grimaced. "And why, Bellatrix, is this at all important to Lord Voldemort?"

Bella began to get excited. "Because, my lord, it is the perfect opportunity for you to infiltrate Hogwarts and get that idiot once and for all." _And for me to show you exactly how I feel,_ she thought.

"Go on, Bella, I am not convinced."

Bellatrix took a step closer, her excitement showing on her face. "The whole school will be completely distracted by the excitement of the Ball. You'll be able to sneak in completely unnoticed and take Hogwarts once and for all!"

"And what makes you think I wish to take Hogwarts for my own, Bella?"

"I, uh, well, I just thought . . ."

"Did you presume to understand my thoughts and desires, Bella?"

Bellatrix took a step back, worry flitting across her face. "I would never presume. My lord knows I aim but to serve him and would never . . ."

Voldemort cut her off, standing and (much to Bella's surprise) taking a large stride towards her. "Enough, Bella. I am not cross with you. Although you would do well to remember that the plans of Lord Voldemort belong to Lord Voldemort. I will tell you if I think you need to know."

He patted her shoulder awkwardly and then began striding around the room. "I do, however, feel that your plan is a good one. It needs fleshing out. How do you propose I enter the school unnoticed?"

Bella blushed. "I had thought you could come as . . . as my date, my Lord. The ball is a masked ball, you could wear a mask and no one would ever know who you were! It's foolproof!"

Voldemort did not look particularly impressed by this plan, but as the day wore on, he was forced to concede that Bella had put a good amount of thought into the hows and whys. By the time Bella was ready to leave, the two were ready to put their plan into action.

* * *

Lily, Alice, Clara and Amelia parted ways almost as soon as they picked Amelia up, the latter to walk around the lake and the former to return to the Gryffindor Tower to get ready for the upcoming Quidditch match.

Alice noticed as they approached the tower that Lily was becoming progressively infuriated. Her steps quickened and she actually growled at the Fat Lady when she asked for the password.

"It's _Mimbulous Mimbletonia_," Alice hurriedly offered to the Fat Lady, who stared at Lily as she opened the portrait door.

"Honestly, Lily, what is the matter? I mean, sure Clara could have asked us to go with them, but she must have wanted to spend some time with her cousin. Amelia is only here for one day."

"Don't call that, that, HAG by her name, I don't want to hear it!"

Lily stalked off in the direction of the dormitories, leaving a bewildered Alice to follow after. The girls arrived in their dormitory, where Lily began sorting through her trunk looking for her scarf, throwing her possessions around the room in her frustration.

"Ok, Lils, that's ENOUGH!" Alice grabbed both of Lily's hands and steered her to the chair in the corner. "Out with it. What do you have against Amelia?"

Lily took a deep, shuddering breath and stared directly at Alice with such directness that Alice was a little stunned.

"Did you see the way he looked at her?"

"What?" Alice was more than confused. "I thought this was all about Amelia . . . oh, I think I understand now. You're upset because James . . ."

Lily growled, and Alice hastily retracted.

"I mean, because, he was flirting with her?"

Lily nodded miserably. "I had such a nice breakfast with him, I thought finally, maybe, we were finally going to . . . oh, I don't know . . . and then this new girl turns up and he's all over her! I just don't understand it!"

The background music started up and Lily sang:

_Hey look out for that moving van_

_Driving down your street_

_You betta lock up your man_

_Before he meets . . ._

Alice jumped up and sang with her:

_The new girl in town_

_Who just came on the scene_

_The new girl in town_

_Can't be more than 16_

_And she's got a way of makin'_

_A boy act like a clown_

_Wo-oo,wo-oo,wo-oo,wo-oo_

_We don't know what to do_

_'Bout the new girl in town_

Alice reached out and gave Lily a hug. "Ok, enough of this James Potter mess. Let's get you cleaned up and then go watch Quidditch. You never know, someone might hit a bludger at his face and break his nose!"

Lily stared at Alice for a long moment, and then burst into helpless giggles. "Now that's something I'd like to see!"

* * *

It was the end of the day by the time Bella arrived back at Hogwarts from her sojourn in Albania. She was not particularly surprised to find Rudy waiting for her at the entrance to the girls dormitories in Slytherin Tower, but she was surprised by the look upon his face.

"What do you want, Rudy?" she questioned brusquely as she walked past him.

Rudy grabbed her by her arm to stop her entering the dormitories.

"I just want to talk, Bella." He let go of her arm, which Bella rubbed subconsciously as she turned to face him.

"Well, talk then!"

"I don't understand what you said the other day. About there being someone else. Who is it? And why didn't you tell me before? I thought we were supposed to be friends?"

"Like I told you, Rudy, we are friends, but there's still someone else and I'm taking him to the ball. We might be engaged or whatever from our parents, but that doesn't mean I have to follow you around like a love sick puppy. Go find someone else to bug."

And with that, Bella flounced off, leaving poor Rudy (much to his great surprise) with a huge weight descending onto his shoulders.

* * *

Later that evening, Amelia Lockhart descended the stairs of the girls' dormitories alone. Walking into the common room, she found Peter in a lounge chair dozing by the fire. Amelia smiled to herself. She'd hoped to find the cute one alone while she was here.

Amelia walked over to Peter and gently shook him awake. He stared at her sleepily, then jumped to his feet.

Amelia laughed softly. "Hey, sorry to wake you."

"That that's o-ok," he spluttered, face turning a pale shade of pink.

"So, you never got around to telling me your name before," she smiled.

"Oh, its, well, my name's Peter."

Amelia took a step towards him and before Peter knew it, they were standing nearly nose to nose. He was afraid to breathe as she gently placed her soft lips on his. All too soon, she pulled away and smiled at him.

"It was nice to meet you, Peter," she said, walking back up towards the stair case. She turned once and smiled and then she was gone.

Peter flopped back into his chair, feeling his heart race and his face flush. Clearly it was his lucky day too.


End file.
